Publications by authors named "Kazuko Hirao"

The contribution of breakfast to daily nutrient intake is low, particularly among children, at only about 20%, and it is difficult to determine whether children are receiving adequate nutrients at breakfast. Although alterations in breakfast content are considered to affect lifestyle habits such as sleep and defecation, there have been few intervention studies in children. The relationship between nutritional balance, dietary intake, and lifestyle habits in children remains unclear.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how different afternoon snacks (fruit granola, potato chips, roasted sweet potato, and black beans) affect glucose levels during dinner, particularly the second-meal effect.
  • Results show that certain snacks like fruit granola and roasted sweet potato suppress post-meal glucose spikes better when consumed at specific times (3 PM vs. 5 PM).
  • The findings suggest that choosing snacks high in carbohydrates and soluble fiber could positively influence glucose management, which has implications for dietary recommendations and future research.
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Restricting feeding to daytime can entrain circadian clocks in peripheral organs of rodents, and nutrients that rapidly increase the blood glucose level are suitable for inducing entrainment. However, dietetic issues, for example, whether or not the diet comprises heated food, have not been fully explored. We therefore hypothesized that rapidly digested starch causes stronger entrainment than slowly digested starch.

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The effects of sago starch content in diets on the status of lipid peroxidation and antioxidative enzyme activities were examined with rats fed cholesterol-free and cholesterol-enriched diets. Despite the diets with and without supplemental cholesterol, both food intake and the value of plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) showed a lower tendency or lower values in the rats fed the diet with a high ratio of sago starch as compared to a low ratio. Liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities, and serum and liver alpha-tocopherol concentrations were higher in the rats fed the cholesterol-free and enriched diets with a high ratio of sago starch as compared to a low ratio.

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